gimmethatfish
Aquarium Advice Activist
Hi all,
One of my dwarf gouramis has been bent in an S shape for a while now. I noticed it one evening and inspected him closely, and he seemed to have a small spot of scratched scales right where the bend happened. I figured he had been injured somehow, so I have just kept a close eye on him. It has been a few weeks, and he still hasn't straightened out. Every once in a while he shows signs of straightening and I think he's over his problem, but he always relapses.
He has been eating well, passing normal waste, and has no external signs of a problem other than the bend - scales have healed, he is not bloated or lumpy or bumpy or pale or anything. He is a little bit "sinky", but he swims around fairly normally and is able to reach the surface. None of the other fish in the tank are showing any signs of illness or distress.
He is in a 55 gallon tank with: neon tetras, rummynose tetras, peacock gudgeons, peppered cories, some snails, and panda garras. He's King of the tank, and I cannot imagine any of those other fish bothering him. The tank is kept at 78 degrees, lots of plants, 30% water change per week, water is testing perfectly fine (0 amm, 0 'trite, 5-10 'trate between changes).
Diet is a combination of NLS small fish formula, live blackworms, frozen community mix, and he often picks at the shrimp/earthworm sticks I throw in for the cories.
I am thinking I should pull him out and put him in a hospital tank, but I'm not sure what treatment to give him. I really thought all this time that he had a small injury and was recovering, but it has been long enough that now I'm concerned. I certainly do not want him passing any illness to the rest of the tank, and I also do not want him to be uncomfortable or in distress. He seems to "feel" fine right now.
One of my dwarf gouramis has been bent in an S shape for a while now. I noticed it one evening and inspected him closely, and he seemed to have a small spot of scratched scales right where the bend happened. I figured he had been injured somehow, so I have just kept a close eye on him. It has been a few weeks, and he still hasn't straightened out. Every once in a while he shows signs of straightening and I think he's over his problem, but he always relapses.
He has been eating well, passing normal waste, and has no external signs of a problem other than the bend - scales have healed, he is not bloated or lumpy or bumpy or pale or anything. He is a little bit "sinky", but he swims around fairly normally and is able to reach the surface. None of the other fish in the tank are showing any signs of illness or distress.
He is in a 55 gallon tank with: neon tetras, rummynose tetras, peacock gudgeons, peppered cories, some snails, and panda garras. He's King of the tank, and I cannot imagine any of those other fish bothering him. The tank is kept at 78 degrees, lots of plants, 30% water change per week, water is testing perfectly fine (0 amm, 0 'trite, 5-10 'trate between changes).
Diet is a combination of NLS small fish formula, live blackworms, frozen community mix, and he often picks at the shrimp/earthworm sticks I throw in for the cories.
I am thinking I should pull him out and put him in a hospital tank, but I'm not sure what treatment to give him. I really thought all this time that he had a small injury and was recovering, but it has been long enough that now I'm concerned. I certainly do not want him passing any illness to the rest of the tank, and I also do not want him to be uncomfortable or in distress. He seems to "feel" fine right now.
